This invention relates generally to hybrid junctions and especially to coaxial 180.degree. hybrid junctions for impedance-matched, multioctave bandwidth operation.
Existing hybrid junctions are formed from waveguides or coaxial cables. Although use of coaxial cables is preferred for wideband applications, many wideband hybrid junctions are formed from waveguides. Yet even conventional waveguide designs are not suitable for octave or multioctave operation, in which case ridged waveguides are used. Conventional and ridged waveguide configurations may be too large and inconvenient for many wideband applications. Existing coaxial devices for 180.degree. phase shifts generally apply to narrowband use. It may be possible to modify such coaxial hybrid junctions for wideband use, but at the expense of complex fabrication (i.e., multicoupler networks).